(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a trigger sprayer having a nozzle assembly that dispenses a spray of liquid in a fan pattern that is selectively oriented horizontally or vertically. In particular, the present invention pertains to the construction of a nozzle housing and nozzle cap mounted on the nozzle housing, where the nozzle cap is rotatable relative to the nozzle housing to direct a fan spray pattern of liquid from the nozzle cap in both a vertical and horizontal orientation, and prevent the discharge of liquid from the nozzle cap in cap positions between the horizontal and vertical orientations.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Trigger sprayers are hand held and hand operated sprayers that dispense liquid from a bottle attached to the sprayer. The typical trigger sprayer has a sprayer housing that is attached to the bottle by a threaded connection or a bayonet-type connection. The sprayer housing contains a pump chamber, a liquid supply passage that communicates the pump chamber through a dip tube with the liquid inside the container attached to the sprayer housing, and a liquid discharge passage that communicates with the pump chamber.
A piston is mounted on the sprayer housing for reciprocating movement through the pump chamber. A trigger is also mounted on the sprayer housing for pivoting movement of the trigger relative to the sprayer housing. The trigger is operatively connected to the pump piston to cause the pump piston to reciprocate through the pump chamber in response to manually squeezing and releasing the trigger.
In the typical operation of a trigger sprayer, the trigger sprayer is held in the hand of an operator and the trigger of the trigger sprayer is manually squeezed and released. The manual squeezing and releasing of the trigger sprayer trigger causes the pump piston to reciprocate in the pump chamber. The reciprocation of the pump piston draws liquid from the bottle through the dip tube and the liquid supply passage to the pump chamber, and pumps the liquid from the pump chamber through the liquid discharge passage of the sprayer housing. A nozzle assembly attached to the sprayer housing controls the discharge of liquid from the sprayer housing.
Known trigger sprayer nozzle assemblies discharge liquid from the trigger sprayers in a variety of different discharge spray patterns. Known nozzle assemblies discharge liquid in a conical spray pattern, in a linear stream pattern, and discharge liquid as a foam in the most commonly known discharge patterns. However, in certain uses of a trigger sprayer, other liquid discharge patterns may be more desirable.